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How do you see the value of market research organisations and the typical product offerings in the sector shifting as a result of COVID-19 ?
There is a big shift of people really making more sense of the pure data , because we now have massive amounts of it . The more you do things online , the more data you gather . I think COVID-19 has accelerated what was going to happen anyway , as technology has always been a catalyst .
We have proactively suggested a refresh of data for some pre-COVID-19 projects , as companies are looking to understand what the real impact of the pandemic has been . This is not unusual in crisis periods . For example , we saw similar behaviour after the financial crisis . People want to understand what we need to go back to new normal . For that , you need data insights to help with this . Markets like China and Korea are recovering , evidenced with an almost V-shaped recovery immediately after a couple of months of going back into offices .
Your most recent research was an
annual look into consumer behaviour . What are the key highlights from this year ’ s findings ?
One of the trends that is probably impacting and affecting most regional players here is related to sustainability , which we refer to as ‘ build back better ’. It is all about companies helping the local community , having clear values and a visible supply chain . We have seen that before , but it is now less of a nice-to-have and more of a must-have , which people expect to be part of your brand . We found that 42 % of Vietnamese consumers say that they buy from brands who support their social values . Separately in our voice of the industry survey , 69 % of industry professionals expect consumers to be more concerned about sustainability than they were prior to COVID-19 .
There then is the blurred line between digital and physical experiences , which we call the ‘ Phygital reality ’ trend . Some markets in Southeast Asia were behind in terms of e-commerce when the pandemic started . However , many companies were forced to leverage on technology , invest and get that going quickly .
The more you do things online , the more data you gather . I think COVID-19 has accelerated what was going to happen anyway , as technology has always been a catalyst .
IN FOCUS INTERVIEW WITH THE EDITOR :
AGILSON VALLE , SENIOR SALES DIRECTOR , APAC AND COUNTRY MANAGER , SINGAPORE , EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL